Fuse for bombs



g L/Vu'dh'errg D. l.. WOODBERRY FUbE FOR BOMBS Filed Sept. 20, 1926 wQN/A' Jan. 10

Jan. 30, i933. D. 1 WOODBERRY 1,893,663

FUb' E FOR BOMBS Filed Sept. 20, 1926 Z Sheets-Sheet 2 I' m ////////M lPatented Idan.. 10, 1933 narran stares metete earanr @aerea DAVID L.WOODBERRY, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGOR T0 SECRETARY 0F WAR OF THEUNITED STATES 0F AMERICA FUSE FOR IBGMBS Application led September 20,1926. Serial No. 136,659.

' (GRANTED UNDER THE ACT 0F MARCH 3, 1883, AS AMENDED .APRIL 30, 1928;370 0. Gl 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured andused by or for the Government for governmental purposes without thepayment to me of any royalty thereon.

The subject of this invention is a fuse for bombs.

Bombs launched from. low flying aeroplanes usually strike the groundbefore straightening out and in order to insure functioning I propose toinclude in the fuse a novel form of firing mechanism of the type whichoperates irrespective of the angle of impact.

The invention is characterized chieiiy by the employment of a tiltablecarrier in which are arranged the cam striker normally holding a primerdetonator carrier in unarmed position out of line with a booster.

Provision is made in the nose fuse so that in case of head on impactwhere delay incident to an inertia element is not desirable I may employan impact plate which will actuate the striker before the bomb isretardeth The invention also contemplates novel means for guiding thedetonator carrier in its movement to armed position and then locking itin that position.

With these and other objects in view which Will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the novel arrangement andcombination of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made Within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein: i

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a nose fuse constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the application of theinvention to a tail fuse;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the carrier;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings by 'numerals of reference:

The fuse shown in Fig. 1 comprises a casing or body 6 formed with atubular extension 7 to the open end of which is secured a ring 8 havingan inturned flange constituting a seat 9. lVithn the extension andresting on the seat is a tapered carrier 10, its base slightly spacedfrom the extension and formed with a beveled rim 11 as a provision toallow it When armed to be tilted out of axial alinement with the fuse.

Mounted transversely in the carrier 10 is a primer detonator carrierconsisting of a cylindrical bolt 12 normally held in unarmed posi- `tionwith the primer 13 and detonator 14 out ot' line with the booster charge15 in the base oi the carrier by means of the striker 16. The strikerfor convenience is made in two parts, a cylindrical body 17 and a fixedfiring 'pin 18 which is the element engageable with the bolt to hold itagainst the action of the springs 19. The striker body is mounted in theopen upper end ot the carrier and is held therein against the action ofthe spring 2O by a release member 21 Which in turn is held by a spindle22 forming part of a vane unit 23 which revolves in a Well known mannerduring flight of the bomb to unthread the spindle from the fuse. Whenthe striker is thus held by the release member 21, the carrier 10 whichhouses the striker is not capable of being tilted, and the striker inturn holds the bolt in the unarmed position so that functioning of thefuse is positively prevented until the release member is freed duringflight of the bomb.

Upon removal from the carrier 10 of the release member 21 which in thenose fuse illustrated in Fig. lis only capable of limited movement, thestriker is partially extruded from the carrier (as indicated in dottedlines) under the influence of its spring withdrawing the tiring pin 18from engagement with the bolt and coming to rest with its cam face 17 ain engagement with a cam seat 24 which may be formed on the releasemember 2l as shown or it may equally as well be provided in the fusebody 6. This constitutes the armed postion of the fuse, the carrierbeing free to tilt and the bolt 12 being held in place by a plunger 25which enters a recess 26 in the bolt. This plunger also serves to uidethe bolt in its movement and hold it agalnst rotation to insure axialalinement of the primer detonator and to this end, (see F ig. 7 it mayride in a groove 27 in the bolt.

In case of vertical impact, the striker or the carrier will be movedtowards its complementary member in the usual manner to detonate thefuse, but in the case of lateral impact, the carrier 1.0 will be tilteddue to its inertia and the striker which is mounted therein will becammed inward by the seat 24 causing the firing pin to set off theprimer.

The provision in case of head-on impact for functioning the fuse beforethe bomb is retarded or comes to rest comprises an impact plate 28formed with an annular flange 29 which is held against a. shoulder 30on, the fuse body by a spring 31. The plate serves to limit the extentof movement of the release member 21 on removal of the vane u-nit and onimpact it drives the release member inwardly to actuate the striker. Theplate/28 which threadedly receives the spindle 22 is held againstrotation by means of a pin 32 carried in the fuse body and extendinginto a groove 33 in the plate.

In the tail fuse shown in Fig. 5, the carrier and its arrangement issubstantially similar to that described. In this form the plunger 34a ofthe striker 34 is directly held by the spindle 35 and as previouslysuggested the cam seat 36 is formed in the usc body.` A safety pin 37serving an obvious purpose is removed when fusing the bomb.

In the case of vertical head-on impact of the bomb, the inertia of theplunger 34a carrying the striker Will cause the striker t-o be drivenhome.

I claim:

1. A fuse including a body, a tiltable cari rier in the body, a boostercharge in the base portion thereof, a bolt movable transversely ofthecarrier, a primer detonator in the bolt, a striker having a cam facemovably mounted in an open end of the carrier and engageable with thebolt to hold it in unarmed position, a spring for moving the striker torelease the bolt, a release member having a cam seat movable axially ofthe body for holding the striker in place, means removable during iii htfor holdin the release member and an axially movable 1m act plate forlimiting outward movement o the release mem.

ber and for moving said member inwardly on impact.

2. A fuse 'including a body, a tiltable carrier in the body, a boltmovable transversely of the carrier, a primer detonator in the bolt astriker having a cam face movably mounted in an open end of the carrierand engageable with the bolt to hold it in unarmed position, a springfor movin the striker to release the bolt, a release mem er movableaxially of the body for holding the striker in place, means removableduring flight for holding the release member and an axially movable imact plate for limiting outward movement o the release member and formoving said member inwardly on impact and a cam seat in which thestriker rests when released.

3. A fuse includin a body, a tiltable carrier in the body, a bo tmovable transversely o f the carrier, a primer in the bolt, a cam headedstriker movably mounted in an open end of the carrier and engageablewith the bolt to hold it in unarmed position, a spring for moving thestriker artially out of the carrier, a member opera le during flight forreleasably, holdingthe striker in place, an impact plate for limitingoutward movement of the release member and for moving said memberinwardly on impact and a cam seat in which the striker rests whenreleased.

4. A fuse including a body, a tiltable carrier in the body, a boltmovable transversely of the carrier, a primer in the bolt, a cam headedstriker movably mounted in an open end of the carrier and engageablewith the bolt to hold it in unarmed position, a spring for moving thestriker partially out of the carrier, a member operable during flightfor releasably holding the striker in place and a cam seat in which thestriker rests when re- DAVID L. WOODBERRY.

' leased.

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